Plasmodium brodeni
Plasmodium brodeni is a parasite of the genus Plasmodium subgenus Vinckeia. As in all Plasmodium species, P. brodeni has both vertebrate and insect hosts. The vertebrate hosts for this parasite are mammals.
| Plasmodium brodeni | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| (unranked): | Diaphoretickes |
| Clade: | TSAR |
| Clade: | SAR |
| Infrakingdom: | Alveolata |
| Phylum: | Apicomplexa |
| Class: | Aconoidasida |
| Order: | Haemospororida |
| Family: | Plasmodiidae |
| Genus: | Plasmodium |
| Species: | P. brodeni |
| Binomial name | |
| Plasmodium brodeni Rodhain at al., 1913 | |
Taxonomy
The parasite was first described by Rodhain at al. in 1913. Rodhain and his colleagues were on a scientific expedition in the Katanga, Congo. As part of this expedition they examined blood of all the vertebrates they caught. In a sample of twelve elephant shrews (Petrodromus tetradactylus) captured between Bukama and Sankisia this parasite was discovered. They named the species after Broden.
This parasite was rediscovered several years later by a United States Naval Medical Research Unit in elephant shrews caught in the Sudan. Over one hundred animals were found to be infected. The press reported the import by air of 'malaria infected elephants' from Africa.
Distribution
This species is found in the Congo, Sudan and probably in other parts of Africa.
Hosts
The only known host is the elephant shrew (Petrodomus and Elephantulus species).[1]
References
- Heisch RB (1954) Presence of Plasmodium brodeni in elephant shrews (Elephantulu sp). East Afr. Med. J. 31(6):263-264
Further reading
Hoogstral, Harry; Huff, Clay; Lawless, Deaner (1950). "A malarial parasite of the African elephant shrew, Elephantulus rufescens dundasi Dollman". Journal of the National Malaria Society. 9 (4): 293–304. PMID 14804088.